How to Marry a UK Citizen and Get an EU Passport

If I marry a British citizen can I get an EU passport and open a business in France? Yes, if you’re an EU citizen you can set up business in any other EU country. EU citizen can stay for as long as they want in any other EU country. To get married to a UK [...]

If I marry a British citizen can I get an EU passport and open a business in France?

Yes, if you’re an EU citizen you can set up business in any other EU country. EU citizen can stay for as long as they want in any other EU country.

To get married to a UK citizen it is often far easier to go back to the UK to live until all the paperwork is processed and you are awarded citizenship. Be warned, this often takes over three years of constant UK residency. It is relatively easy to get a fiance/ marriage visa to the UK, but the kicker is that you often need to return to your home country to apply. I would highly suggest checking with UK consulates in mainland Europe to confirm this though, as Australia is a long haul away and visa “rules” often turn out to be pliable and open to interpretation. Definitely check with the UK embassy in Spain to see if they could just grant you a fiance visa, as there are immigration “rules” and then there are loopholes that appear every so often.

There is a two year probationary period where you need to remain in the UK after being married in order to receive “indefinite leave to remain” status. You need to be living with your husband for this entire period. You need to remain in the UK for three years before you can become a naturalized citizen. Once you have citizenship you are free to move about the continent, and open up your business in France.

In order to obtain any of the above you need to be able to prove that you have enough money to fund yourselves in the UK without needing public assistance.

Keep in mind that you can’t change your visa status once in the UK. So you can’t enter on a tourist visa and then switch to a marriage visa. So if you’re going to make a go for this you need to do it straight up.

So, basically, you’re looking at the 3 year investment of living stable in the UK before you can get that EU passport.

Here is one story that I was sent from someone who did not have a fiance visa when arriving in the UK. I would not recommend trying this, even though it worked out for this particular individual:

As for the question regarding UK visas, when I came over we managed to find a loop hole in the visa system. I’m not sure if it still exists but it definitely bears checking out. I was initially told that I could apply for my fiancee’s visa when I got here which turned out to be incorrect. Turning up at Manchester airport with a one way tickets and 10 suitcases of luggage and declaring that I was here to get married almost got me deported on the spot! They finally let me in with a 3 month visitors visa, then as we were married before that visa expired, I applied directly for my “marriage visa” which gave me what is called “permanent leave to remain” which means I can stay as long as Peter and I are married, however I have no recourse to public funds or benefits should I be unemployed etc. I do however get national health care and the honour of paying taxes here. 😉

It seems as if getting married to a UK national may be the long route towards being able to open a business in France. You may be better off drawing up a business plan and applying for an investor’s visa in France. The problem here is that you often need to be able to show a relatively large amount of available funds — but there are often loopholes or degrees of interpretation depending on the individual who reviews your application.

Keep in mind also that opening a business in France is often very difficult even for French people, and horror stories abound everywhere (just do a relevant internet search to find them). It seems to me as if you may be better off continuing to live on sailboats.

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Original question:

I am a 31 year old Australian holding a Australian passport and my boyfriend is British. We have been working on yachts together for 8 years in Europe and various other places and as a result I fall into a void for visas as I have been moving so often. I have resigned from the boat and wish to set up a business in France. As I can not obtain a work visa easily and can only stay in the EU for 90 days in 180, we are thinking of getting married if it helps my situation. Are you able to advise us on this subject? If we were to be married, would I be able to work in France? We are currently in Spain and I am approaching the end of my 90 days. What should I do is the big question?

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Wade Shepard is the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. He has been traveling the world since 1999, through 83 countries. He is the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China, and contributes to Forbes, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. Wade Shepard has written 3228 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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Wade Shepard is an itinerant writer who has been traveling the world since 1999, through 83 countries. He is the author of Ghost Cities of China, a regular contributor to Forbes, Citiscope, The Diplomat, and the South China Morning Post. This is his personal blog where he shares the stories from his travels that don’t fit in anywhere else.